The Marriage of Telephus and Auge prevented
1790–1800
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 3/8 × 4 11/16 in. (8.6 × 11.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Spencer Bickerton, 1933
Accession Number
33.68.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Edward Francis Burney’s delicate drawing captures a dramatic moment from Greek mythology in which the marriage of Telephus and Auge is dramatically interrupted. Created between 1790 and 0, the small sheet uses pen and brown ink with gray wash to depict men and women reacting in surprise as serpents intervene, conveying tension and movement within a compact space. Burney, a British draftsman known for his narrative illustrations, employs fine linework and subtle shading to heighten the scene’s emotional intensity. The medium of ink and wash was popular in the late eighteenth century for its ab...
About the Artist
Edward Francis Burney · 1760–1848
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